& i'll see the sun

@dreadblades' art blog! Main fandoms are various Nintendo games (Legend of Zelda, Mario), World of Warcraft, Mega Man, Castlevania (game canon), and a slew of others.

[heljay]

HEL’S COMMISSION INFO

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[heljay]

I haven't done an AMV in a hot minute

Moxrider, with background Tomko (The Chosen Hunter)/Elena

Subtextually, yes. I never stop thinking about how Elena almost certainly has CPTSD from every man she ever even starts to care about getting kidnapped and/or killed in front of her. (Volk is apparently the only exception since he's not a romantic interest)

Oh, my comfortable niche of characters/ships with little to no screentime, I will never leave you

[heljay]

Playing a bunch of Pokémon lately led to me coming up with Pokémon partners/teams for XCOM characters for fun. Naturally, the Reapers main Ghost-types and are specifically the Dusknoir line being favored by the higher ranks. Elena especially has one as her ace

I've got a piece for Mox pending, stay tuned for that!

[heljay]

And here's Mox! I imagine the Skirmishers favoring Dark-types. Absol seemed the best fit for Mox as a man seeking to make things right from what he used to be doing. Stylizing Mox was a little tricker than stylizing Elena lol

Anyway I have a Ko-Fi and there's stuff on it

[heljay]

Playing a bunch of Pokémon lately led to me coming up with Pokémon partners/teams for XCOM characters for fun. Naturally, the Reapers main Ghost-types and are specifically the Dusknoir line being favored by the higher ranks. Elena especially has one as her ace

I've got a piece for Mox pending, stay tuned for that!

[heljay]

Hello, forgive my excitement, but I wanted to say that I love your Thinmen/Viper OC, Bond! She's such a cool idea and concept that genuinely crossed wires in my brain- wondering how come Firaxis never explored a concept like Bond?? It strikes right in the territory of Envy (Full Metal Alchemists) and Mizu (Blue Eye Samurai) of peak and reminds me of a Masc presenting Ada Wong (Resident Evil) while feeling entirely unique in a setting like XCOM!! You absolutely cooked here and I hope others appreciate it too, pardon if the gushing is too strong though

It really makes me want to read up more on them or inspire me to write something

No worries, I'm glad you (and others) like Bond so much!! She does kinda benefit from being a little to the left of the stereotypical Tumblr Sexyman™ LOL

I'm sad that the Thin Men went by the wayside in general after EU/EW! I understand why they weren't in XCOM 2 (aside from the Speaker), but I would've loved to see them back in Chimera Squad as more than a background asset cameo (there's thin mint action figures in stock in some maps). Nothing against the Vipers, but the Thin Men were way more charismatic and charming, and whenever I play too much XCOM 2 I start to miss them. Replaying EU/EW tends to come from the sheer Desire to see my beloved thin mints in action again

As for Bond herself, you may have seen I do have fics of her up! do not borrow grief from the future is a somber discussion between her and my Ethereal OC Hawking; good-bye is too dangerous is her being a supportive friend to OC Diane "Cargo" Freeman as Cargo tries to decide whether or not to let her family know she's alive; and she does play more minor roles in the useless one and curiosity (she goes unnamed in that fic since it's from Berserker OC Echidna's perspective, and Echidna isn't exactly inclined to like her at first, but Bond is the "viper infiltrator" talking to her). I should write more Bond-centric fics honestly. Because everyone loves a thin mint :3

[heljay]

And here's the piece I drew as thumbnail for that video about the Belmont Legacy! If nothing else I do enjoy the main cast, particularly my girl Pascha Totoyan. Illyana is also great, but she is a bit hampered by being an impotent attempt at #Feminism instead of just... having a personal story tied into the plot like Pascha does.

🦇 Psst! If you sign up for my Ko-Fi, you can see a speedpaint of this and of other pieces I've done!

[heljay]

Newest video essay: let's talk about Castlevania: The Belmont Legacy-- a comic adaptation of The Adventure which is a well-told story on its own merits! Just a shame it doesn't quite vibe with its source material.

I've honestly had this video in progress for way longer than I should have, mostly because I lost steam partway through and thus shelved it for several months. But, it's done now!

🦇 Psst! If you sign up for my Ko-Fi, you can see a speedpaint of the video's thumbnail and of other pieces I've done!

[heljay]

I wanted to doodle my most beloved noodle bc I hadn't drawn her in a hot minute

Also because. Thin Men and forked tongues. How has the fandom not capitalized on this yet,

👽🐍 Anyway I have a Ko-Fi and there's stuff on it

[heljay]

Got a new video essay coming out once I get the thumbnail done; here's the preview :D

The video's about an obscure Castlevania comic adaptation that nobody but me and a few of my friends have read

[heljay]

I was gonna make it another batch upload when I had another couple of refs done but I couldn't resist. Pls look at 13 year-old Joy. Is she not the cutest muton you've ever seen in your life 😭 lookit her lil baby haaands

anyways yes. this is my baby daughter (her actual canon adoptive mothers stare me down in the distance) and i love her

👽 Anyway I have a Ko-Fi and there's stuff on it

[heljay]

sometimes you gotta doodle your ocs in casual wear

💀 Anyway I have a Ko-Fi and there's stuff on it!

[heljay]

A headshot of Xan because I hadn't posted anything else with complete shading this month

gorl,

👽 Anyway I have a Ko-Fi and there's stuff on it

[heljay]

A batch of XCOM OC refs! All entirely unrelated, but nevertheless characters that occupy a reasonable amount of my brain :'3 In order: Hester "Miracle" Morris, Rook, and Xan "Python" Ven!

Hester obviously took the most time; Rook is a very simple variant of the in-game archon, and Xan is tricky because these designs are basically outside of her actual canon story as I've decided it. Admittedly I keep questioning if I should kill her off as I intended when I first developed her, leaning towards yes, but I still wanted to give her a design for an AU where she lives.

👽 Anyway I have a Ko-Fi and there's stuff on it

[heljay]

Chapters: 4/4 Fandom: XCOM (Video Games) & Related Fandoms Rating: Mature Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Original Female Character(s)/Berserker (XCOM) Characters: Original Female Character(s), Original Male Character(s), Berserker (XCOM), Muton (XCOM), ADVENT (XCOM), Avatar (XCOM) Additional Tags: Medical Abuse, Child Abuse, Rescue Missions, Revenge, Past Child Abuse, confronting the past, Infant Death, Gore Summary:

On what was intended to be a standard ADVENT facility mission, Diane "Cargo" Freeman and her allies find out: this particular facility is in the process of modifying muton children into berserkers, when one of those children escapes to them. Cargo's wife and commanding officer Echidna, a berserker herself, knows exactly what those kids are expected to go through. Set off by the horrors of her own past, Echidna barrels forward, and Cargo follows, anxious to learn at long last just how painfully a berserker's childhood dies.

[heljay]

Chapters: 3/4 Fandom: XCOM (Video Games) & Related Fandoms Rating: Mature Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Original Female Character(s)/Berserker (XCOM) Characters: Original Female Character(s), Original Male Character(s), Berserker (XCOM), Muton (XCOM), ADVENT (XCOM), Avatar (XCOM) Additional Tags: Medical Abuse, Child Abuse, Rescue Missions, Revenge, Past Child Abuse, confronting the past, Infant Death, Gore Summary:

On what was intended to be a standard ADVENT facility mission, Diane "Cargo" Freeman and her allies find out: this particular facility is in the process of modifying muton children into berserkers, when one of those children escapes to them. Cargo's wife and commanding officer Echidna, a berserker herself, knows exactly what those kids are expected to go through. Set off by the horrors of her own past, Echidna barrels forward, and Cargo follows, anxious to learn at long last just how painfully a berserker's childhood dies.

[dreadblades]

Chapters: 2/4 Fandom: XCOM (Video Games) & Related Fandoms Rating: Mature Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Original Female Character(s)/Berserker (XCOM) Characters: Original Female Character(s), Original Male Character(s), Berserker (XCOM), Muton (XCOM), ADVENT (XCOM), Avatar (XCOM) Additional Tags: Medical Abuse, Child Abuse, Rescue Missions, Revenge, Past Child Abuse, confronting the past, Infant Death Summary:

On what was intended to be a standard ADVENT facility mission, Diane “Cargo” Freeman and her allies find out: this particular facility is in the process of modifying muton children into berserkers, when one of those children escapes to them. Cargo’s wife and commanding officer Echidna, a berserker herself, knows exactly what those kids are expected to go through. Set off by the horrors of her own past, Echidna barrels forward, and Cargo follows, anxious to learn at long last just how painfully a berserker’s childhood dies.

[heljay]

Chapters: 1/4 Fandom: XCOM (Video Games) & Related Fandoms Rating: Mature Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Original Female Character(s)/Berserker (XCOM) Characters: Original Female Character(s), Original Male Character(s), Berserker (XCOM), Muton (XCOM), ADVENT (XCOM), Avatar (XCOM) Additional Tags: Medical Abuse, Child Abuse, Rescue Missions, Revenge, Past Child Abuse, confronting the past Summary:

On what was intended to be a standard ADVENT facility mission, Diane "Cargo" Freeman and her allies find out: this particular facility is in the process of modifying muton children into berserkers, when one of those kids escapes to them. Cargo's wife and commanding officer Echidna, a berserker herself, knows exactly what those children are expected to go through. Set off by the horrors of her own past, Echidna barrels forward, and Cargo follows, anxious to learn at long last just how painfully a berserker's childhood dies.